More than 2,800 graduate from Clemson University

Published: May 11, 2012

Clemson gave degrees to 2,841 graduates Friday. image by: Patrick Wright/Clemson University

CLEMSON — Clemson University’s largest-ever graduating class received degrees in spring Commencement ceremonies at Littlejohn Coliseum Friday.

The tally of degrees awarded was 2,841, as 2,242 students completed requirements for bachelor’s degrees, 514 received master’s degrees and 85 earned doctorates. Clemson added a third ceremony this year to accommodate all the graduates and their guests.

At the morning ceremony, graduates of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Science and the College of Engineering and Science received degrees. At 2, graduates in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities and the College of Health, Education and Human Development are receiving their degrees, and at 6:30 the College of Business and Behavioral Science graduates are getting theirs.

Minor Mickel Shaw, president of the private investment company Micco LLC, received an honorary degree in the morning ceremony.

“Don’t be afraid of bold ideas. Don’t be afraid to fail,” she told the graduates.

“I have always said you have to step outside of your comfort zone if you want to accomplish something,” she said.

The morning ceremony included two father-child pairs graduating together.

Ronald “Bart” Thompson of Greenville received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering; his daughter, Anna Thompson, received a Bachelor of Science in biology. While the elder Thompson worked full time at Michelin while pursuing his doctorate, he and his daughter often had lunch together. She is the youngest of three daughters. Her older sisters attended Furman and Winthrop universities.

Gilbert Miller of Bamberg, a watermelon expert at Clemson’s Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville, received his Ph.D. in plant and environmental science. His son, Jesse Miller, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering.

Clemson University President James F. Barker congratulated the graduates and shared a quote from poet William Butler Yeats: “'Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.'

“It is my hope that your Clemson experience has ignited a fire inside you that will burn for a lifetime,” Barker said. “A fire that will cause you to ask and answer your own questions, to think critically, to think for yourself — and that you will continue your education throughout a lifetime of learning and growth.”

END